Tech Tips

Henschel
Hs-129B and the Magic of Buffing

We all know that camouflage schemes are better at concealing their subjects
when less light is reflected from the paint coats, thus blending with the
surrounding backgrounds. Aircraft however, are tricky subjects. While a matt
coat would certainly serve its purpose, a close inspection of aircraft be them
in the field or from photographs reveal that this is not always the case.

Typically, if we consider aircraft with metal skin, then the natural effect
would induce a high degree of glossiness, depending on the thickness of paint
coats over the bare metal. Hence, the more paint is applied on the aircraft the
more likely it would diminish the glossy appearance. Primer paints obscure the
shiny metal, but may often be applied sparingly to spare excess aircraft weight
and production costs.

Secondly, completely matt finishes add more drag on aircraft and therefore
were generally avoided in the aviation industry starting with the 1940s.

Weathering also has its effect. Factory fresh aircraft appear with a high
degree of glossiness. With time, sun glare, rain and abrasive effect of dust
reduce considerably the amount of skin reflection resulting with a perfectly
matt skin that does not need further treatment to blend with the environment.

How does it translate to modelling techniques?

When we consider painting model aircraft, we would opt for a range varying
from matt-textured paints to glossy surfaces that facilitate decal attachment. A
universally used finishing method is rounding off all this with a final matt
coat.

Over years of following this traditional approach, I realized that something
was missing from my nicely weathered aircraft models. They were lifeless. Having
built many variants of the same model, my approach towards the painting
practices and finish became bolder. While I hardly consult now paint charts and
mix my own paints instead of buying dedicated colour jars, I also put much more
attention to the final steps of painting.

In the presented example I show the difference between two Henschels Hs
129B-2. The Western Desert machine has field application of RLM 79 over the
traditional RLM 71 and RLM 70. This model received an overall matt coat; it is
likely that in the field, the aircraft had such a flat appearance.

The second Hs 129B-3 has the original RLM 70 and 71 upper surfaces
camouflage. Yet, the final paint coat was subjected to buffing rather than
dull-coating. The undersurfaces of both models retained a silky-textured RLM 65
because they are the least affected by the weathering factors.

I found that buffing the upper surfaces of an enamel matt coat with a paper
towel has two benefits. Firstly, tiny paint fragments and dust particles that
are captured in the paint spaying process are removed, giving an even surface
just like in the real aircraft. Secondly, the matt coat gives way to a glossy
surface that adds much to the three-dimensional effect of the model.

In the end, what we are dealing with is enhancing the 3D effect of models.
Hence, whether real aircraft are glossy or not does not matter much. What
matters is that your model looks real.

Additional images, click to enlarge

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